John G. Schmitz

John George Schmitz (12 August 1930-10 January 2001) was a member of the US House of Representatives (R-CA 35) from 30 June 1970 to 3 January 1973, succeeding James B. Utt and preceding Glenn M. Anderson.

Biography
John George Schmitz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1930, and he served in the US Marine Corps as a jet pilot and helicopter pilot from 1952 to 1960. After leaving the Marines, he taught philosophy and political science at Santa Ana College, and he also became involved with the John Birch Society. He was elected to the California Senate in 1964, and he was an ultra-conservative Republican, with his views being extreme even in Orange County. He opposed sex education in schools, believed that people should be allowed to carry loaded guns in their cars, called the 1965 Watts riots a "communist operation", supported investigating teachers for communism, and sought to sell universities to private corporations as a curb against student protests. In 1970, he was elected to the US House of Representatives in a special election, serving until 1973. In 1972, he ran as the American Independent Party candidate for president, but he lost with just 1.42% of the vote. He returned to the State Senate, but his extremist rhetoric led to the JBS expelling him. In 1982, he admitted to an extramarital affair with one of his former college students that sired two children, ending his college career. His own daughter, 6th grade teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, became well-known after she was arrested for raping a 12-year-old male student, whom she later married. Schmitz died in 2001 in Bethesda, Maryland.